A Trip Back in Time to Mescal, Arizona (the movie set)

Mescal, Arizona is a faux Old West town 40 miles east of Sahuarita near Benson. A lot of Westerns were filmed there, including Quick & the Dead starring Gene Hackman, Russell Crow, Leonardo DiCaprio and Sharon Stone; and Tombstone starring Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer. The sister site to Old Tucson Studios, Mescal has been featured in over 50 films, television programs and commercials. In addition to the movies mentioned above, Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean and Buffalo Soldiers were filmed there.
Time to plan ahead! Resident Frank Young is facilitating a tour trip to the set and Frank Brown (above), caretaker at the set, will conduct the tour there. He will collect $10 (cash) per person at the location. Caravan with your neighbors from the clubhouse to Mescal on April 4th. Resident’s should plan on meeting in the lobby at 8:45 a.m. to leave at 9:00 a.m. There will be a clipboard in the lobby for resident’s to sign-up as drivers and passengers. The drive will take about 45 minutes or so. Passengers should plan on paying your driver $4.00 each for fuel, etc. The tour at Mescal begins at 10 a.m. and will conclude at 11 a.m. NOTE: Mescal has no restroom facilities, water or food. Recommend you check the weather and dress appropriately. It gets chilly and breezy at times. Bring your camera too! After the tour, those interested will travel to Benson and have lunch at the Farmhouse Restaurant (811 West 4th St.) it’s approx. a 12 minute drive from Mescal. Drivers will be provided maps to get to Mescal and Benson thereafter. Following lunch we head back to Rancho Resort!